


Dark Friends

by hollydermovoi



Category: Addams Family - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, BAMF Darcy Lewis, Darcy is the fandom bicycle and I love it, Fluff, Gen, Genderfluid Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2018-03-11 12:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 11,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3326567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollydermovoi/pseuds/hollydermovoi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy had a <i>brief</i> shining moment of popularity in high school.</p><p>Of course, she had to go and "ruin it" by befriending Wednesday Addams</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Darcy was used to being an outcast. She'd gone through middleschool with the trifecta of social ostrazation- glasses, braces and acne. Not to mention ridiculously curly hair that rivaled Princess Mia's _and_ Hermione's. But somehow, thanks to Acutane, contacts, getting her braces removed, finding a curl relaxer that actually _worked_ , her cup size expanding rapidly, lots of makeup and the new "chique" wardrobe, she was popular. In fact, she was the most popular girl at her school.

She was also very, _very_ uncomfortable.

The clothes are too tight, the contacts itch and she can't quite shake the feeling that the only reason she has "friends" is because she's societally acceptable now thanks to her "improved" looks.

Maybe that's why, when Mrs. Porter asked them to get into the groups of two she didn't go to Cindy (or was it Mindy?) or Casey (or was it Cathy) her supposed best friends, she goes and she sits next to Wednesday Addams.  
*  
"OMG Darcy," whined Marcy (or was it Macey) "I can't believe you chose that gothic freak over _me_." And yeah, Darcy had never liked her much, but wow. It was no surprise that she couldn't remember her name.

"I think it's sweet,Darcy taking pity on her like that" said Beth, who was Darcy's cousin and the Junior Queen Bee. She was also the reason Darcy'd gotten an unwanted makeover, but whatever. Beth was sweet, though slightly shallow. "Just imagine, Darcy, if you could convince her to let me give her a makeover! She has such _potential_..." For a moment Darcy had a _horrifying_ mental picture of Wednesday Addams in a dress like the one Beth was wearing . It wasn't that she wouldn't look good in it, it just wouldn't suit her personality.

"I'll see what I can do," she lied. "I'm supposed to go to her place after school, so-what?" she said at their horrified looks. " _What?_ "  
*  
 _Oh,_ she thought as she looked at the dark castle looming behind the gate the bus had dropped her off at, _that's what._

Well, it was very Wednesday. And she could see why her "friends" had been so horrified. She kinda liked it though. Originally, she'd thought that Wednesday was simply a spookier sort of goth, but this house seriously implied a spooky realtor at _least_.

The fence rattled ominously as she stepped towards it and she flinched. "Sorry," she said to it, feeling rather foolish. Wednesday had told her that if she was nice to the fence, then the fence would be nice to her, but talking to inanimate objects like they'd understand her wasn't exactly something Darcy was adept at. "You startled me," she continued and her eyes bugged a little when it rattled...apologetically? OK, time to roll with the punches so to speak. "Erm, can I come in?" she asked it politely. "Wednesday's expecting me."

And just like that, Fence (as she decided to call it) swung open. "Thanks." she said, and picked up her backpack from the ground next to her. She'd only set foot on the path when the ground in front of her exploded suddenly, causing her to skitter away from it.

 _Right_ she remembered. _Wednesday gave me directions. Where did I-_ she fumbled through her ridiculous purse, cursing softly beneath her breath until she found the directions written in Wednesday's spiky handwritting. 

"Left, forward, forward, right, forward, left, back, forward..." she read aloud as she danced along the path. "Jump, ring doorbell and smile." she finished when she finally got to the porch. She rang the doorbell, and when it swung open to reveal a _very_ tall man with a striking resemblance to classic Frankenstein she managed to conjure up a smile. "Hi," she said. "Is Wednesday here? I'm Darcy. We're supposed to work on a project together?" The man grunts and moves away, allowing her into the house, and yep, there is no doubt that Wednesday grew up here. And, if the stunning, otherwordly woman gliding towards her is any indication, Wednesday's beautiful eerie charm may just be genetic.

"Hello," the woman purrs, "I am Morticia Addams, Wednesday's mother. Please, call me Morticia." she continued, extending her hand and Darcy gave into the urge to kiss it gently. When she straightened, it was to see that Mortica was smiling a little, eyes twinkling. "And you are?" she inquired. "Darcy Lewis." said Darcy. "I'm in Wednesday's history class."

"She's in the library dearie," cackled an old woman from the second floor. "Pugsly will show you." A boy, slightly shorter than she was and definitely heavier waved. He looked slightly like Wednesday-maybe her brother? She didn't have time to ask because he was walking away. Hurriedly, she called goodbye to Morticia, Lurch and the old woman and ran after him, not noticing the hand scurrying after her.

__"I like her," the old woman said to Morticia after she'd left. "She's a bit of a Debbie, isn't she?"_ _

__Morticia smiled knowingly. "Oh, mama. She's got so much more _potential_ than Debbie."_ _


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Darcy had only stuck to spending only the amount of time necessary to complete the project with Wednesday, her reputation might've gone forth without a blemish.
> 
> This is not what happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I wasn't actually expecting anyone to read this? Thanks guys for all the comments and kudoses-keep 'em coming, they keep me going

The assignment _should've_ been easy. They were supposed to take someone from history and put them on trial (and "history" was relative, so really, they could pick anyone).

There was just one small problem.

"Ted Bundy?" Darcy offered, scratching _Marie Antoinette_ off of her lists of possibles.

Wednesday almost _smiled_ at this one, and Darcy couldn't help it- she smiled back. "Ah, Bundy. I used to admire him so much. Nowadays, I think he could've done better."

Darcy blinked, at a loss for how a man who'd killed thirty people could've done _better_ and then it came to her. "Shouldn't have gotten caught." she muttered, crossing him off the list. When she looked up, Wednesday was _really_ smiling, though in a fairly evil way. "Precisely. Now Hitler-" Darcy held up one hand, cutting Wednesday off. "Hold it." she said. "I've as much respect for your average serial killer that gets away with it as anyone else that watches _Criminal Minds_ and laughs at the FBI's general incompetance. But _Hitler_? Sorry Wednesday, I'm Jewish. And my Nana was in Auschwitz. So I _really_ don't wanna hear how Adolf was misunderstood or, or amazing, OK?" she glanced at her watch and frowned. "I gotta go catch the bus. I'll try to think of something before class tomorrow, OK?"

Wednesday nodded solemnly as Darcy gathered up her stuff. She left, and honestly, that could've been it. She could've asked for permission to do the project alone, or asked to join a different group. She chose not to. In fact, she went a step further than choosing not to.

She sat down to eat lunch with Wednesday the next day.

"Hey Wednesday," she said as she sat down. "Hey Pugsley." She didn't know _why_ a middleschooler was allowed to eat lunch here, but they _were_ Addamses, so she fgured that keeping them together was for the best, if that's how they wanted to be.

"Wednesday, I thought about it some more last night and we've been going about this project all wrong." she declared. "We've just been focused on picking a person who's evil enough that we're _both_ comfortable with putting on trial, but we're never gonna find someone. You admire them too much and I don't care too much about evil that hasn't touched my way in some way. _But_ , I did some thinking and some research and I _think_ I have a solution. _You_ ," she declared, flinging her fork in Wednesday's direction (Wednesday looked slightly amused as she poked a squirming sandwich with a steak knife. Darcy ignored that) "You will describe in as much lurid detail as your twisted heart desires the despicable deeds of our chosen evil one. And _I_ ," she said, indicating herself "Will describe the societal impact these 'horrid'" she said with exagerated hand quotes "deeds have had."

Wednesday and Pugsley exchanged a look, one eyebrow raised, and Darcy could almost _feel_ the conversation they were having. _Likely about whether or not they wanna kill me, or keep me for further experimentation._ she mused, poking at the mystery meat the cafeteria lady had put on her tray. She glanced up to find both raised eyebrows aimed towards her and smiled before taking a generous bite. _Yep,_ she thought, nodding to herself. _Definitely thinking of the possibilities._

Oddly, this didn't bother her as much as it should.

"You two must **love** _Halloweentown_ right?" she asked. Silence. She looked up. The eyebrows were down and their eyes were wide.

"There's a _Halloween **town**_ " whispered Pugsly, eyes glimmering with hopes and dreams and oh. My. God. 

"You guys have never seen _Nightmare Before Christmas_?" she asked, horrified.

They both shook their heads. Pugsley looked upset.

"Oh my god, you are _totally_ borowing it. This is practically a _crime_. Y'all have at least seen _Edward Scissorhands_ right?"

More head shaking. Pugsley looked even _more_ unhappy. "It's OK guys, y'all can borrow that too. About the project Wednesday, I was thinking we could do Lady Bathory?"

At Wednesday's nod, she smiled. "Great!"

Pugsley stood. "I gotta make a call," he said, and walked away.

"What's wrong with him?" Darcy asked, concerned. 

Wednesday shook her head. "Too many things to list," she said evenly. "Lady Bathory is fine. What would we need to watch this nightmare and learn about Mr. Scissorhands?"

"Uh..." said Darcy, as she twirled some spaghetti around her fork. "A TV and VCR/DVD player?" Wednesday stood. "You should spend the weekend at my place." she said firmly. "Bring your videos." And off she went.

Darcy smilled. Sweet! Weekend plans! 

_This_ is what ruined her reputation, if anyone was still curious about that bit.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy _loved_ weekends. Yes, it was partially because no school was awesomesauce, but it was mainly because on the weekends, Beth and her Aunt didn't give a shit about what she wore on the weekends. This means that when Wednesday approached her during study hall and asked her to come over at 4 on Friday, thus giving Darcy enough time to change, she changed into a person Wednesday Addams hadn't seen before.
> 
> Whoops.

Darcy pedaled round the corner and grinned at the sight of the Addam's mansion. Thank God. Her backpack? Super heavy. She brought all of her horror movies and some that weren't, but that she thought they'd like. Hey, you think you can do better? _You_ try to narrow down a good selection of movies to show to two scary kids and get back to her ok? As she gets closer, she notices Wednesday waiting outside of Fence for her.

Odd. She hadn't pegged Wednesday for the _eagerly anticipating her sorta pal_ type, more of a _lurk in the belfrey and calculate the speed at which I would need to throw this (knife, sword, coconut) towards that person with (hopefully? hard to tell) minimum damage_ type, but whatev's. She was happy regardless.

"Hey Wednesday!" she said, as she braked and dismounted. "Fence, if you promise not to eat my bike, I'll give you some of the rust I scrapped off my neighbor's gate." Fence squeaked excitedly, and she knew they had a deal, so she leaned her bike on one of Fence's posts, satisfied that it'd be safe. She turns to find Wednesday scrutinizing her assessingly, one eyebrow raised and really, she was starting to suspect that that was just something an Addam's did when they were intrigued by someone's idiosyncracies.

"What?" she asked defensively.

"You look different." said Wednesday, eyebrow still raised, and _oh._

"Oh.Yeah, this is what happens when you strip most of the makeup off and let me choose what to wear." said Darcy as she gestered to her oversized plaid shirt, sweat pants and combat boots.

The eyebrow went down, and Darcy can kinda sense the smile. "I like it. Makes you look less Debbie."

"Less who now?" asks Darcy as she follows Wednesday up the path, backpack swinging between them. Wednesday waves her free hand dismissively. "My former aunt, I'll tell you later. Oh, and Darcy?" she says, eyes suddenly very serious. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" asks Darcy, genuinely at a loss and more than a tad concerned because Wednesday had seemed _sincere._ But then Wednesday swing the front door open and for the first time in a very long while, Darcy Anne Lewis is at a loss for words.

Luckily, her brain reboots rather quickly. "Wednesday," she says slowly, while trying very hard not to make eye contact with anyone. "Who are all of these people?" _And what are they **doing** here?_ part of her wanted to know, but she ignores it cause Wednesday's cheeks were flushing slightly.

Someday, Darcy was gonna find the asshole who'd started the rumor that the Addams' were emotion less psychos and smack 'em on the head with a haddock. Repeatedly. Until he begged for mercy. And then maybe a little more. Because right now she _strongly_ suspected that Wednesday was _embarassed_.

"It all started because Pubert-my youngest sibling, you haven't met them yet-invited Cousin What and Cousin How because like them, they're homescooled and don't get out much. Naturally, their parents, Cousin It and Cousin Margaret wanted to come with so they could spend some time with my parents. Cousin Margaret was on the phone with Aunt Morgana and mentioned it. All of the sudden, she and Cousin Ophelia wanted to come. They invited Dexter and Donald and-" here, Wednesday took a deep breath "anyways, one thing led to another and the entire family has come to watch your movies."

Darcy blinked, and pondered this for a second, heart pounding. She _hated_ crowds. But Wednesday was her sorta friend, the first one that felt remotely _real_. Darcy _couldn't_ let her down _now._

"I-" she said, and then caught her breath. She could _feel_ the crowd's assessing eyebrow raise. "I don't think I brought enough popcorn." she told the floor. 

Just like that, the tension broke. People were laughing and talking and she distincly heard Pugsley say "That's OK, most of us don't even _like_ popcorn." She felt the backpack being tugged out of her hands and her gaze snapped back to Wednesday's face . 

"Wednesday," _Why didn't you warn me?_ she wanted to ask, but didn't. "I am _not_ sitting anywhere _near_ the giant spider."

"But Muffet is the _sweetest_ girl-" Wednesday started.

 _ **"No."**_ Darcy said firmly. 

And that was that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All Addam's family members come from imdb except for Cousin How, Aunt Morgana and Muffet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THE MOVIE CHAPTER

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight spoilers for Lost Boys. And by slight, I mean I give everything away. 
> 
> For Acheron, who gave me a glorious idea and permission to use it

"I am _so _sorry." Darcy said, staring at the scene in front of her in horror, and Wednesday, the only other person with dry eyes (even Morticia was dabbing her eyes with a hankie) patted her arm consolingly."It's not your fault. " she assured, and _technically_ , it wasn't, but Darcy still _felt_ guilty.__

What had happened was this: after the success of _Nightmare Before Christmas_ and _Edward Scissorhands_ , the entire Addams clan (and Darcy) had gathered for dinner in the ballroom. Despite the fact that there were so many of them (one of which was a giant frickin' spider omg) and the fact that Uncle Fester hissed and scuttled away if she so much as glanced in his direction, Darcy found herself having fun (and if she occassionally tossed a bread roll in the spiders direction, that was no ones business but hers, and maybe Wednesday's). Anyways, while they were eating the interesting looking yet yummy food, someone asked her what they were gonna watch next. She'd hesitated, and Gomez, Wednesday's father, had lit up. He'd begged, rather shamelessly, for the opportunity to pick a movie as sultry as his wife.

He'd picked _Lost Boys_. At first, it'd gone well. Everyone had gotten invested in the story, egging on the vampires and cooing about how cute the Frog Brothers were. And then the first vampire had gotten staked and everything went to shit. Now, people were crying. Gomez and Fester were clutching at each other and sobbing about how the Lost Boys who'd lost each other too soon, and they'd never let that happen, _ever._

Darcy glanced at Wednesday again, and noticed she was trembling. Hesitantly, she reached out, and slung an arm around Wednesday's shoulders, slightly surprised, but also warmed when Wednesday leaned into the embrace.

"I'm gonna fix this." Wednesday declared passionately, and Darcy nodded. She believed her. But-"How?" she asked. Wednesday considered this for a second.

"I'm gonna write an alternate ending." she said finally.

"OK," said Darcy. "I'll help. But in the meantime..." she rumaged through her bag and pulled out another movie. "We should watch this. No one wins in this, it's perfect."

Really, she should've seen Fester's declaration that he was gonna study dinosaur cloning coming from a mile away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, technically, the dinosaurs win in Jurassic Park, but whatever.
> 
> According to my math and based on Kat Dennings age, they would've been freshmen in 2000. Was fanfiction around in 2000? I assume yes, I mean, I was in third grade in 2000, so I don't remember too much. Which reminds me: Criminal Minds wasn't around in 2000, but I don't really know of another reference to make. The year will be important eventually, which is really the only reason I bring this up.
> 
> Please continue telling me what you think! I thrive on constructive commentary and criticism.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some secrets are revealed. Others might be known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is talk of anxiety in this chapter

Near the end of _Lost World_ Darcy had a hard time suppressing her yawns. It'd been a _very_ long day, and as much as she'd like to spend more time with Wednesday, Pugsley and Pubert (ok, with all of the Addams), her body was not OK with the idea.

Morticia stood, and addressed everyone. "Beloved family, estimed compatriots, I believe it is time to call the evening to an end. Those who planned to stay, you know where your rooms are located. Darcy, would you like a guest room or would you like to stay with Wednesday?"

Darcy looked towards Wednesday and almost snorted when Wednesday flashed her the peace sign. "Stay with Wednesday." she said, and Morticia smiled. "Very well. Muffet, would you take the girls to Wednesday's room?" Darcy felt the blood drain from her face."Mother-" Wednesday started, but it was too late, Muffet picked them up and carried through the mansion. Darcy would look back at the experience later, remember a very fast trip that involved _way too many legs_ and Uncle Fester calling out "Goodnight Wednesday and Not Debbie!" Other than that, it was all a terrified blur of a memory. But she would be able to remember that Muffet was quite gentle for such a _terrifying_ creature, and slighly adorable when she'd waved goodnight to them with one of her legs.

This doesn't change the fact that right after the fact she was panicking. Just a bit. Well...a lot. But anyways, as she leaned against the wall, trying to regulate her breathing, she noticed something. Wednesday Addams, who most of the school agreed was a evil sociopath, was the only one in Darcy's experience who reacted to a panic attack the way she secretly wished everyone away- by staying within sight but not touching.

This was such a nice and unexpected change that it really helped. She took the deepest breaths she could, trying to space them out. "Anything I can do?" she heard Wednesday ask calmly. Between breaths, Darcy managed to say "A distraction please?"

Wednesday didn't even hesitate. "You want to know why we haven't seen any of those movies yet?"

Darcy nodded, and noticed that Muffet was scuttling back towards them, Darcy's bags on her back. She tensed, flinching away from the spider slightly. Wednesday's face suddenly blocked Muffet from view. "Hey," she said softly. "Drop the bags Muffet. Good girl. Go to bed. C'mon Darcy." Numbly, Darcy followed.

"It all started when Pubert was first born. Pugsley and I were very jealous. More than that, we were angry. We kept trying to do things to them- _bad_ things. My parents decided that it'd be for the best to procure the services of a nanny. Between the two of us- and the fact that Pubert didn't get their fire breathing under control until they were four- we managed to drive off every single nanny. The service even went so far as to deny they existed anymore, that's how bad we were." Wednesday's hands were trembling, so Darcy reached out and laced their fingers together. She didn't even notice that her body was trying to mimic Wednesday's breathing patterns, but Wednesday did. She took a breath in and watched Darcy copy it. "Anyways, this woman shows up, saying that her name is Debbie and that the agency sent her. Uncle Fester was enamored almost _instantly_. My parents were so happy to have her that they ignored the fact that Pugsley and I found her to be suspicious. After all, she was surviving. More than that, she seemed to be thriving. And then she sent us away, to a Hell on Earth known as Camp Chippewa. The counselors there insisted that all children be _happy_. We languished there, like plants thirsting for water. And _then_ we heard the Debbie and Uncle Fester were going to get _married_. We tried to excape, with the help of the one of the other oddballs there. His name was Joel. He had glasses, braces, an inhaler, and a crush on me. I was determined to use all of these to my advantage. But they kept thwarting our attempts, and their punishments were _brutal_. They sang _Kumbaya_ to us. They made us watch _Disney_ , and _musicals_ in the _Harmony Hut_. They forced us into participating in their racist, historically inaccurate musical. Well, I showed them."

Darcy waited, but Wednesday seemed unwilling to continue. "What'd you do?" she asked finally, honestly curious. Wednesday smiled sinisterly. "I burned it down."

_"Good."_

They sat in silence for another minute or two and then it hit Darcy.

"Wait- and your uncle thinks _I'm_ like the horrid woman who sent you to a place you _hated_?"

This time, Wednesday's smile was a lot less sinister. "At first we did. It was the clothes. I mean, you were nice in a uncondescending way. You never filled me with the urge to light you on fire like most of the other popular girls do. But we'd been mislead before by pretty looks, so we were wary. But _first_ , you actually showed up. You ate dinner, you're staying over...I think we might be...friends? So now, you're not Debbie. You're not Debbie at _all._ "

Darcy smiled, because it felt good to be not Debbie. And in the spirit of...friendship? she leaned over and revealed a secret of her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darcy's secret will be revealed in the next chapter, which I think will be Wednesday's POV


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Sunday evening came around and Darcy left, Wednesday found herself missing her company. So for the first time, Wednesday Addams found that she was looking forward to school on Monday morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry for the long wait y'all. I've been pretty sick and for once fever was NOT conducive to writing. 
> 
> Let's just say they enjoyed the rest of the weekend and not worry too much about the particulars OK?
> 
> EDIT: forgot to add something, but I think I've fixed it now.

"So she's an orphan!" cried Gomez. "How marvelous!"

Wednesday stared at her father, and instead of cackling as everyone else was, she felt a little sick. All she could think of was Darcy's terrified face when she'd told Wednesday about the accident, and how she'd watched the last breath leave her mothers lips.

" _Please_ don't say that to Darcy." she begged. "She's not _like_ us- to her death is _sad_ , and in this case, pretty fucking traumatizing. She was in the car when her parents died." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father's grin widen and she held up a hand to stall him. "And no, she doesn't consider it to be a rare honor, seeing death up close and personal." She turned as Pubert entered the room and changed the subject to something more ruitine- or at least it was at their house.

"Pronouns today?" she asked and Pubert smiled. "She/her, please." her sister requested and Wednesday smiled slightly.

When Pubert had first turned to their mother and said "I don't think I'm a boy today, but I don't think I'm a girl either," there'd been _some_ worry.

Well actually, a lot. But not because of the different gender thing. Not entirely. At first, the fear had been that the disease Pubert had contracted due to stress within the home, the one that'd turned them from an Addams into...whatever it was they'd turned into. Mother and father didn't talk about it much. Anyway, the initial reveal hadn't gone well. Father had especially not taken it well and for a while, Pubert had _tried_ , had tried to just be male, and it's not that they hadn't pulled it off, it's more that the effort had made them miserable. Finally, a concerned teacher had raised the issue, and had told them that questioning gender was perfectly natural and that while Pubert might face social ostrazation by their peers- more than was usual for an Addams- it was very, _very_ important that Pubert be supported at home, or the depression could get worse.

Morticia and Gomez may like the darkness, they may relish pain and suffering, but above all else, they wished their children _happiness_. And if it made Pubert happy to be asked their pronouns every day, and to have a wardrobe consisting of dapper suits _and_ pretty dresses, then that was something they embraced and cherished, even at first when they hadn't fully understood it at first.

And Wednesday's love for her sister- who was sometimes her brother and sometimes her nibling- was great enough that if the first friend she'd ever made had had an issue with Pubert, she would've dropped their friendship immediately. Miraculously, Darcy Lewis had taken it remarkably well- when they'd been introduced, Pubert had informed her that their pronouns were "they today, possibly he or she tomorrow." Darcy had blinked, visibly processed it and had grinned. That had been that. A small action on Darcy's behalf perhaps, but it had gained Darcy something that hardly anyone else had.

It had earned her Wednesday's respect.

*

Darcy's love for her cousin Beth knew no bounds. She knew that without Beth, and Beth's miticulously manicured grasp on _everyone_ at school that her friendship with the oddest, scariest girl in school would've normally resulted in social ostrazation so vicious that she wouldn't have been able to go _anywhere_ without Wednesday for fear of the vicious pranking that would soon rain down upon her. _With_ Beth's infuence, she was more or less left alone, albeit with some strange looks in the hallway. She was grateful for this, she really was, because highschool had been bad enough when she'd been popular.

She still wore the clothing during the week though, and the makeup. She may not be in Beth's social circle anymore, but if dressing this way made Beth happy, it was literally the least she could do. And if her makeup got a little darker, well that was her business. And if it made Wednesday a little more comfortable around her during the week, all the better.

Anyways, their project went well, the Backstreet Boys became a _thing_ , Darcy more or less was an Addams on the weekends and all was well. Halloween was a _huge_ celebration, and Darcy got to celebrate Hannukah with Long Arms Addams' family (Beth's family was Christian, something Nana had never forgiven, her only daughter converting like that). Wednesday spent the first week of the year living with Darcy in the in law unit above the garage (the only other option would've been to share with Beth and Mara and Darcy needed her space). When spring semester rolled around, Darcy was called into the office and given a new schedule, one that was near identical to Wednesday's. Apparently, Mrs. Porter's end of term reports had shown such a marked improvement in Wednesday's social skills that the school administration wasn't taking any chances- they attributed the "emotional social growth" to Darcy, and thanked her for her kindness in befriending such a strange girl.

Fuck 'em. Wednesday made school _much_ more interesting, and that's all that really mattered. Besides, this meant that the weekend trips to the Addams' abode could still be excused as study dates, if that's what Wednesday choose, instead of as the sleepovers they really were. Spring turned into summer, and it was summer that revealed Darcy's secret.

*

Darcy sat up in the middle of the night gasping. 

_Gotta make a cake, gotta make a cake_. She scrambled out of her bed and down the stairs to her kitchennette (She lived in the In Law unit beneath her Aunt and Uncle's house which was pretty sweet), opened her cupboards and got to work. She didn't even notice that she threw the eggshells in the batter, or how she used bleach and rat poison to make the icing. All she noticed was that once the cake was done and iced that she was on her bike and peddling, and that she didn't stop until she'd gotten to the Addams' house. She parked her bike next to Fence and threw him a padlock that she'd stolen from one of the quarterbacks so he could mangle it. She then dashed up the walk to the front door and knocked on it. Morticia answered the door, and while her makeup and attire were impeccable as always, the slight frazzle to her hair worried Darcy.

"I...I made a cake, with broken eggshells and bleach rat poison icing and _holy **fuck** don't eat that, it'll kill you._ " she was reaching out to take the horrid cake away, but Morticia was already licking some of the icing off of her finger and smiling appreciatively. Darcy waited for the screaming or the writhing in agony, but neither seemed like they were gonna happen.

 _Just when you began to think that the Addams make sense..._ she thought to herself but then Wednesday was there, and she had _tears_ running down her face, one thing led to another and they were hugging as Wednesday sobbed into Darcy's shoulder, as she said something about her Grandmother and not dying and Darcy was trying to process this, but she was suddenly super tired. "Wednesday," she managed to slur out, swaying dangerously. "I made you a cake." 

And then she was unconcious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I had such a hard time with this chapter. I tried to give y'all Wednesday's POV all the way through, but it just didn't ask happen.
> 
> A teaser for the next chapter: "Has anyone ever offered the Dark Lord a nice rutabaga?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, I lied. That rutabaga line is gonna be in the next chapter.
> 
> I thrive on commentary, especially insightful or constructive commentary

"Mama!" called Morticia with a delicate knock to the coffin that was lying on their dining room table surrounded by candles. "Mama, I know you're upset, but we have a...delicate situation. It seems that Wednesday's friend-" "Not Debbie?" came a muffled voice from within the coffin and Morticia nodded regally. "It seems that Not Debbie is in some distress- she made a cake, and from Wednesday's recollection, she can't cook. Once she got here, and delivered the cake, she fainted. I might be wrong, but it seems like our little Not Debbie-"

The lid of the coffin flew open with a bang. "Is a witch!" cried Grandmother Addams with glee.

*

"A witch" said Darcy faintly. She took the steaming mug from Lurch with shaking hands. With a frown, Wednesday reached out and steadied her grip, bringing the mug to Darcy's lips so she could take a sip. Almost immediately, color flushed her cheeks and she sputtered. "What _is_ this?" she demanded. 

"It's better if you don't know dear," said Wednesday's grandmother almost tenderly, patting her hand. "And you are indeed a witch. Likely a kitchen witch, given what happened."

Darcy paled again. "Wednesday," she said tremously. "Wednesday, they're gonna send me away."

"Who's going to send you away?" Wednesday demanded fiercely.

"My aunt and uncle. They _hate_ mutants."

"A witch is _not_ a mutant." Morticia reprimanded gently.

"Yeah?" panted Darcy, and Wednesday realized Darcy was headed towards a panic attack. " _They won't care._ Beth's father's brother's kid was a mutant- a rather harmless one. He could make things glow. _They kicked him out_ and Beth's parents were supportive of that decision. Last I heard, some school for gifted youngsters gave him a scholarship, but the point is, _I never saw him again._ Mutation, witchcraft, different genders or sexualities, to them it doesn't matter _who_ you are, if you fall into one of those categories, they want nothing to do with you. _They're going to send me away_ " 

*

Wednesday squeezed her hand, wanting to reassure her friend but drawing a blank. After all, what could she do?

As soon as she thought that though, her father had lept to his feet. "Not while I, Gomez Addams, have a voice with which to speak!" he cried. "Come Fester! We must speak to them at once!"

With that, Gomez and Fester were gone, and Morticia and Wednesday focused on keeping Darcy warm (she was still in a bit of shock) and calming her down.

"It'll be alright Not Debbie." Grandmother cooed as she looked through her spell book for any information on kitchen magic. "You're an Addams now."

And while Darcy technically wouldn't _legally_ be an Addams until a couple of hours later, at that moment, she was as much of an Addams as any of them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rutabaga chapter!
> 
> Also, some talk of religion.

Now that Darcy Ann Lewis was now Darcy Ann Not Debbie Lewis Addams and a witch, she'd expected to feel _different_ in some way. But aside from the name and location change, the only thing that was different was that after she finished working as a lifeguard during the day, she was expected to come home and peel potatoes.

A seemingly _endless_ amount of potatoes. 

As she scraped the knife over potatoe number...something very high (she'd lost count somewhere in the thousands), she felt oddly at peace . Now, she was an _Addams_ , and they didn't make her sit through grace at dinner, or go to church on Sundays. They'd held a bonfire where they'd burned most of her preppy clothes ("You don't like them? Then they burn!" Gomez had declared with a flourish) and then taken her shopping for ones that she liked. Morticia had offered to teach her to knit, Pugsly offered to teach her how to throw an ax, Pubert had offered her partial ownership of their spooky accessories and Wednesday had demanded that they share a room. All in all, she was more at ease here, giant muffin loving spider and all, then she'd ever been at her Aunt and Uncle's. She didn't know how Gomez and Fester-who was now legally her father, oh my god- had gotten her relatives to sign over custody, and she didn't care.

She was happy. If also _very_ tired of potatoes. 

"Darcy!" cried Pubert. "Come check out our summoning runes!"

Oh, yeah. Her new cousins were attempting to teach her how to summon a demon. Apparently, it was an Addams tradition? So far, they'd been unsuccessful and even though Darcy was curious (because seriously, demons were actually a thing?), she was also kinda grateful that one hadn't shown up yet. After all, she didn't exactly think she was qualified to face down a demon. Maybe her cousins were, but her? Nah. All she could do is offer up a peeled potatoe.

Anyways, it just so happened that she was hot, and tired, and this was probably the tenth time they'd called her over so she couldn't _really_ be blamed for saying. "Maybe something's wrong with the offerings."

"Nothing's wrong with the offerings!" said Pugsly indignantly, which made sense, cause Pugsly had picked the offerings but as of right now, Darcy gave no shits. She shrugged as she examined the runes _again_ and said "I'm just _saying_. Has anyone ever offered the Dark Lord a nice rutabaga?"

Silence, as her cousins gifted her with another Addams family arched brow (which she really had to learn how to do at some point). "Darcy," said Wednesday carefully. "did you say that cause you're teasing or did you say it because your magic is telling you that's what's needed?"

"Uh..." said Darcy trying to think. This didn't _feel_ like the whole Cake Incident, but at the same time, she really didn't know for _sure_ , did she? At least not yet. "Don't know. But it's worth a shot, right? Pugsly, find a rutabaga. We've got some summoning to do."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Into every life some rutabagas, demonic interns and fighting must fall.
> 
> Wait...
> 
> What?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW this is what happens when you tell me things like "darcy adjusted to easily": my plans change.  
> Enjoy!

"Oh my god!" Pugsley breathed. "It actually worked."

And it had. Well, sort of? 

Darcy reached forward and poked. "Hey!" came a yelp.

Yep, those were horns, and they appeared to be attached to this guys head. But that's just the thing. Aside from the horns..."Hey Wednesday, do you kinda feel like we're being Punk'd?"

Wednesday nodded, eyes narrowed accusingly as she scaned the area. "He does seem remarkably normal."

"Hey!" squawked the demon(?) indignantly, but Wednesday was right. 

"Dude, you're wearing a t-shirt with _Charmander_ on it." said Darcy, a tad judgementally (What? Her starter was totally Bulbasaur) 

"Charmander is awesome!"

"That's besides the point, you're a demon, take some pride in your appearance. Especially," and here Wednesday gestured emphatically "in _that_."

"You just gestured to _all_ of me." the red headed, pokemon shirt wearing, freckled, baby fuzzed boy with horns whined. "And you sound like my _dad_. Besides, 'm not a _full_ demon. I'm an intern. _Technically_ for Nintendo, which is where I got this." he waved his hair and a device that was sorta like a GameBoy appeared in his hand. "It's a DS, it'll come out three years from now. And it's _awesome_."

"Oh my god," said Darcy, both admiringly and in shock. "He is _such_ a dork."

The intern deflated a little.

"That's sorta my problem, see, I'm supposed to complete a certain amount of evil deeds? 'Cept I don't really _like_ being evil and after two years of not even managing the minimum number of evil deeds my boss got kinda sick of me and gave me the alternate option- completing paperwork. But it's so booooring. And the food in Hell is attrocious. All anyone sacrifices is blood and guts and it gets kinda boring after awhile, so when you guys offered up a rutabaga I was kinda desperate..."

"We'll help." said Wednesday almost immediately. "Starting with you giving that toy to Darcy. Consider it your payment."

"Payment for what?" said the intern warily (which was very, _very_ smart of him).

Wednesday's answering grin was full of malice. "Lessons in evil, of course."

Anyways, Darcy didn't know it yet, but this was the end to the peaceful idyll that had started when she sat next to Wednesday that fateful day in Mrs. Porter's class. At first, they all hung out together (when she, Pugsley, Pubert and Freddy, the intern were free), practicing menacing cackles and how to tastefully dab blood on one's face but _not_ overdo it. However, as the summer progressed, Darcy had less time to hang out, being to busy with her day job and the learning of her craft (she used the potatoes to make latkes, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, potatoe soup...the list goes on). Somehow she winds up taking _another_ job because Pubert wants to try being a girl scout, and none of the official troups will take them. Darcy can't stand the pouting so she enlists Pugsley's help and they end up creating an all gender inclusive scout group. Anyways, everything just piles up and Wednesday is left alone to teach Freddy how to be evil. 

The culminating is both of their faults. When school starts back up, Darcy and Wednesday have gotten used to spending their nights together- Wednesday eats lunch with a disguised Freddy and Pugsley and Darcy chills with Beth so she can remember what being a Lewis is all about. After two weeks of this, Darcy is elected to represent her grade at the school's annual Shakespeare Showdown and Wednesday, who'd auditioned with the same monologue Darcy had, grew even more distant, though it seemed impossible. One night, near the end of the first week of September, Darcy came home from Shakespeare rehearsal to find Wednesday and Freddy kissing. She quickly backed out of the room and sat in the hall rehearsing quietly for an hour before she re-entered their room. This time, Freddy was gone. Darcy waited for Wednesday to say something, but Wednesday never did. As she lay on her bed in silence, Darcy felt a tear slip down her cheek.

_Everything had changed._

*

The next day she goes to her Shakespeare rehearsal after school and refuses to perform. Her director, who is not usually such an understanding man, pulls her aside and sits her down. He hugs her as she cries, and when she's done, he hands her a flier. "I think you'd have fun," he says, when she makes a skeptical face. "Besides, the performance will be done tomorrow and you'll need something to do. Think about it." he says gently, before patting her hand and dismissing her for the day.

Tomorrow's performance goes well- she receives a standing ovation for her role of Lady M-----h. The Addams' are there, and so is Beth, all beaming. Except for Wednesday, who's smiling, but not at Darcy. At Freddy.

In that moment, Darcy made a slightly irrational decision. The auditions were gonna be in two weeks, and she was gonna be there. She no longer cared what Wednesday might think.

This blew up in her face rather quickly. As she and Wednesday got ready for bed that night, Darcy's purse, which she'd put on their bathroom counter so she could locate the makeup wipes Beth had given her, fell over, and the notice for auditions fluttered into Wednesday's view. Even though in the last month or so they'd become somewhat more cousin like than friends, they were still civil. Wednesday moved to help clean up, and Darcy was such a weird mixture of elated and upset that she didn't even think of the flyer until it was too late.

Next thing she knew, Wednesday was _screaming_ at her, calling her names and accusing her of treachery with such _venom_. "How could you _do_ this?" she cried, trying to hit Darcy, " _How could you?!_ " As Darcy flinched away from Wednesday's wild swings, her eyes landed on the flier that called for auditions for the school's musical, which was yet to be announced. "I-"she started, about to make some excuse about how she only had the flier cause of her director, she wasn't planning to audition, but then anger started to burn in her chest. "I didn't think you'd _care_ " she spat defensively. "You've barely _spoken_ to me since I helped you summon Freddy- you didn't even mention you had _kissed_ him. Why shouldn't I audition for the musical?"

Wednesday slapped her, so she slapped her back and next thing she knew they were going at each other, Wednesday screaming about how Darcy had betrayed her and the Addams name and Darcy screaming about how Wednesday didn't get to make her decisions for her. Then they were being pulled apart and Darcy screamed "I'm not an Addams, I'm a _Lewis _." before she started crying against her not-quite father's shoulder. Wednesday looked at her with anger in her eyes and disappointment splotching her cheeks and said vehemently "Then _get out_." __

__Before Fester had a chance to tighten his grasp on his daughter of two and a half months, she'd ripped herself out of his arms and she got the fuck out, running out the bedroom door, down the steps, down the path, through Fence who squeeked in alarm and just kept running until her feet, now bruised and bleeding led her to the house she's left not long ago. She snuck into the backyard and climbed up the trellis that Beth had often used to sneak in and out past curfew and and collapsed in a sobbing mess in her older cousin's arms._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am aware that Wednesday seems a little off in this chapter. People. She's a teenager. She'd owed her bouts of hormonal stupidity as we all are.If you never got into a screaming fight or had a fall distance grow seemingly overnight over a relationship then you are very, very lucky.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoops I lied 9/11 is next chapter.

Gomez sat next to his distraught daughter. One part of him wanted to comfort her and the other- well, the other was remembering twenty-five _years_ without his beloved brother, years of separation that could've easily been avoided if he hadn't been such a fool.

He didn't want his daughter to go without Darcy for twenty-five years. He didn't want her to go without her at all. 

"Wednesday. You are making the same mistakes I did." He holds up a hand to stall her protesting. "Do you _honestly think_ that because Frederick is a _demon_ and _not_ a pair of siamese twins that it'll make loosing Darcy over him any _easier_? Now my little ghoul, I know that you are a soul sucking vortex and that Darcy is...some sort of sunshine powered fluffy animal that we Addams' usually despise, but like Cousin Margaret she has become one of us. And while we may have thoroughly messed up making her feel welcome, we _can_ fix it. If..."

"If what?" Wednesday asks and her face is both heartbroken and hopeful. He wished in that moment that he didn't have to tell her this next part, that Darcy would walk through the door and save him from breaking his little girls heart some more, but of course she doesn't.

" _If_..." he takes a deep breath and squeezes her reassuringly. "If she chooses to come back." 

And the look on Wednesday's face was just as horrible as he'd known it would be.

Then the doorbell rang and his daughter was running to the door with himself right behind her. He got the "pleasure" of seeing his daughter's bright hopeful face crumple when she opened the door and it wasn't Darcy standing there. Instead, there was a young blonde lady whom he vaguely recalled was related to Darcy in some way. 

"What are _you_ doing here Beth?" Wednesday demanded, looking past Beth, searching for her friend. 

Beth smiled. It wasn't friendly.

"I'm only here to tell you that Darcy's driving with me to New York tomorrow. I was heading up there to look at schools and Darcy needs to get away so we're going to go, we're going to visit our Nana and our cousin at the school for kids with special abilities. Maybe after that Darcy might stay there if she wants. I am tired of people not asking her what she wants so I'm giving her the chance to choose."

"You have no right-" Wednesday and Beth's smile got a little sharper. 

"And _you_ don't have the right to hit her, but you did and they let you."

Fester spoke up from behind him. "I'll go with you," he said. "That way, if Darcy wants to go to that school or stay with your Nana, I can take care of the paperwork. I'll take care of the plane tickets-it'll be faster. I'll call when I've got a flight."

Beth nodded, smile as nice as Darcy's was before she turned towards Wednesday again. " _Whatever_ she chooses, let me make one thing _abundantly clear_. Failing to apologize sincerely is _not_ an option, and it's up to _her_ if she wants to forgive you. No trying to force it." she warns.

Wednesday nods, and after Beth leaves she stands on the porch looking past Fence 'till the sun rises. And he stays with her, because he knows what it's like to hope for your Fester to return and to not get it. Everyday cutting like a knife and an agony that is not sweet and hurts more than anything else an Addams can imagine.


	11. In which Deadpool takes over this chapter because the author tolkiened herself into a corner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this is the 9/11 chapter. And I made 9/11 as much as sidenote to the general chapter as I could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all @ShaneAndrew's fault.

Wade Wilson was sitting on top of a taco truck eating some yummy goodness when his bedazzled Hello Kitty i-phone began to ring. Ignoring the logical fallacy of having an i-phone in 2001, he answered it.

"Hello, this is Wonderous Willy's Wonderland, this is Wanda speaking how may I direct your call?"

"Yeah this is Holly, I've kinda Tolkiened myself into a corner here, cause I said I was gonna write a 9/11 chapter but I don't really know much about what happened since I was pretty young back then."

"Oh hey! You're the author of Birds of a Feather! You ever gonna update that?"

"I don't wanna talk about that fic. Anyways, my friend gave me your number- I was hoping you could eagle my main character out of dying."

He thought about it for a second. On the one hand, why do it? On the other hand, he'd never eagled someone before.

"Literally eagle, or metaphorically?" he asked suspiciously.

"Whichever you prefer dude. I'm all for weird interpretations of prompts."

"Yeah I saw the thing you wrote about Moriarty raising owls for nefarious purposes. Where do you get your ideas?"

"I don't even know dude. You in?"

"I'm in. What does she look like?"

The writer described her character and he managed to squeeze a promise for an appearance in the sequel from her (what? continuity is important!) and he was on his way. He found her character almost immediately, but since the author asked that her character still undergo the traumatic experience, he waited until the building was down before retrieving her. As he majestically swooped down to gather her in his legs (his talons wouldn't be available until the Falcon armor was engineered, i.e. for another decade at _least_ , even if Stark sent him _all_ of the prototypes), her eyes opened. She was a bit bloody, a bit bruised, but he could see the potential for future beauty when she was no longer underage.

"Beth." she demanded. "You gotta get Beth."

"Sorry, the author only asked me to get you out." he said truthfully, thinking of the possibilities for future collaborations with the girl he grasped carefully in his legs. 

She arched a brow at him, the effect somewhat dampened by the blood trickling through her eyebrow. Thoughtfully he wiped it away because getting blood in the eye was a horrid experience.

"Listen, if you get Beth out, free churros and chimichangas for _life_." she offered and it was tempting.

 _Wait for it,_ said the narration _and she'll put the cherry on top of the proverbial changa sundae._

It didn't take long for the narration to kick in.

" _And,_ " she continued, her grip tightening "if you get her out _now_ , I will devote my life to the art of the churrochanga."

His jaw dropped and he gently placed her on the ground near a paramedic. "Don't take her away quite yet, I'll be right back." and off he was, running as fast as he could to find the supporting character she'd mentioned. When he returned from the wreckage, it was to find that the paramedics had driven off with the main character. He was a bit peeved, but a quick call to the author revealed the hospital she'd been taken to, so he took Beth there. And before he left to wait patiently for the sequel, he left a note next to Darcy's bed.

 _Remember_ it read _Churrochangas._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the note of this being Shane's fault, I feel like I should ask y'all to stop by their tumblr and leave them "raspberry milkshakes" in their inbox. Their url is rabidruminations


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On September 12th, Wednesday didn't have school. Instead, she got a phone call, and a mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK as promised the important bits of ch 11  
> Darcy and Beth were near the World Trade Center when it went down. Both sustained injuries  
> Deadpool rescued them for the wreck. This is important for 2 reasons : 1) Darcy promised to devote her life to the art of the churrochanga. Surprisingly, this is indeed relevant and 2) Deadpool demanded to be in the sequel. THERE'S GONNA BE A SEQUEL. In it, Darcy will meet the Avengers. Yay!  
> Sorry this has taken a while, I haven't been feeling well.   
> For the sake of story telling, let us say that the Addams' live within driving distance of where 9/11 happened, but also far enough away that taking a plane is an option. I know that's vague, but I don't feel like the movies took place any where specific so I'm not gonna try and make it more specific than that.  
> Also, please keep commenting. I promise, I read them all and it does keep me motivated

Wednesday knew what had happened in New York, how could she not? School had come to a screeching halt in the middle of the day because some asshole with a political agenda had crashed their plane into a building full of innocents to make a statement. 

_Careless. If they'd really wanted to make a political statement, they should've crashed into the White House._ was her immediate thought. And then a voice that sounded suspiciously like Darcy's had to put it's two cents in _But in that scenario there are still people dying, and that could lead to us dying in the long run._

Once upon a Time, Wednesday had relished in collateral damage. The more of it the better! The Addams' were proud connoiseurs of schadenfreude- and yet Darcy had tempered that instinctive response with less than a year's worth of acquaintance. 

Wednesday could respect that.

She knew that her parents still viewed the world in this way, which is why she was surprised to come home to...this.

Her mother was sitting almost inelegantly on the stairs, face paler than usual. Pubert, male pronouns that day, had his arms wrapped around her and he was crying. Thing was a trembling wreck in Lurch's firm grasp and she could hear her father's wailing from above.

And she _knew_ something was wrong.

"What is it? Did Uncle Fester go to the World Trade Center while Darcy and Beth went to check out the schoolin Westchester?"

Her mother shook her head, and it was Pubert who revealed the horrible truth. "There was a change in plans- the school didn't have any tours until tomorrow, so Beth and Darcy were going sight seeing. The World Trade Center was on their list of 'Iconic Landmarks to walk by.' We haven't heard from any of them."

At that exact moment, the phone rang. She ran and answered it. "Hello?" she said a bit desperately.

"Wednesday!" came her Uncle's voice. "Finally, I found a working phone. Mine was a little...demolished."

She turned and cried "It's Uncle Fester!"

"Tell everyone I am fine! less damage than when Debbie blew our house up."

"He's fine!" she yelled and heard her father's exultant cry.

"Darcy?" she demanded.

"Not as OK pumpkin," said Uncle Fester sympathetically "The doctors say she'll heal though. She and Beth will carry some interesting scars, but it's a good thing they were found when they were- Beth could've bled out and Darcy could've lost her leg if they hadn't gotten out when they had."

She nodded, and handed the phone to her father who'd made it downstairs at some point. She was at a loss. She couldn't exactly drop everything and go see Darcy- for one, her parent's were very firm about her getting through college before she could enslave a man and she still wanted to do that (for which she'd need good grades) and for another, she was fairly certain that even with what happened, Darcy wouldn't have forgiven her yet.

It took more than a near death experience to change the minds of an Addams after all, even if Darcy was also a Lewis.

So what to do?

 _What would Darcy do, if it'd been me who'd gotten hurt and not her?_ she asked herself and pondered it for a minute. It took remembering a conversation they'd once had for the answer to come to her.

"Pubert?" she asked. "Is anyone in this town Muslim?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses as to what Wednesday's mission is?


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marzeah Hindawi was a month away from her 14th birthday when terrorists took down the Twin Towers and suddenly she went from being a normal, awkward Freshman to being an awkward Freshman terrorist in the eyes of the entire school.
> 
> Well, almost the entire school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe it or not this is my attempt to write away the angst of the previous couple of chapters
> 
> Trigger warning for Islamophobia and racism.

*Two Weeks Later*

Darcy was finally _home,_ after two weeks in the spotlight. She and Beth had somehow became "symbols of a Great American Tragedy"- well, Beth more than her with her blonde hair and blue eye. Beth was striking as well as tragic.

And Darcy was far less amenable to being used as propaganda.

Anyways, despite the stitches, the bruising and the cast on her leg, Uncle Fester had managed to get permission to _cautiously_ drive her home. There'd been reporters waiting for them when they'd left but 

But she was still mad at Wednesday, even if her entire world had come down around her ears. Also, she was a bit wary of the general glee Addams' got over the suffering of others.

This was one of _many_ reasons why she was currently very shocked.

"I'm sorry- you did what?"

"I organized a Neighbor Protection Program. Did you know that there's a Freshman at our school who's Muslim?"

"Yeah- Marzeah, right?"

Wednesday nodded, looking grimly serious. "Couple of asshole jocks went to her house, spray painted 'terrorist' on her garage. When she came out to try and reason with them, they spat at her and tried to tear off her hijab."

"Oh my god." Darcy breathed. "I want to hurt them."

Wednesday grinned, satisfied. "So did I. But that would be stooping to their level. You once said to me, 'why do we kill people who are killing people to show that killing people are wrong.' So while I'd love to punch them in their racist faces, I don't think it'd help. I do however know that they are scared of me. So I'm using that to my advantage. I'm making sure Marzeah is OK at school and walking her home. Pubert and your scouts partol for taggers armed with judging faces and buckets of soapy water. Pugsley is watching after her younger sister who's in middle school. Mother and Father lobby on the family's behalf at City Council meetings and Lurch guards the temple one town over during prayer."

Darcy thought about this, very happy that apparently this is what _she_ would do in Wednesday's eyes and made a decision. "I wanna help." she said and she could tell Wednesday was gonna gently turn her down due to physical injury, so she tried as hard as she could to mentally convey that _if_ Wednesday tried to leave her at home, she'd just find a way to come anyway, even if she had to drag herself all the way to Marzeah's house using only spoons as her means of transportation.

Apparently the gist went through because after a considerable hesitation Wednesday smiled slightly. "We'd be glad to have you." she said.

Just like that, the distance between them started to be bridged.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure it was heavily implied in the last chapter but Darcy's leg is super messed up right now and Beth lost an eye, which to an Addams totes counts as an "interesting scar"

Marzeah's first meeting with Darcy was awkward and strained at the start because Darcy was in a lot of pain and Marzeah was sorta falling over herself in attempt to thank her for Wednesday's terrifyingly efficient interference with the Islamophobic bullies that had popped out of the ground.

"Like daisies" Wednesday had commented in her typical deadpan when she'd brought this up , and Marzeah _refused_ to acknowledge that it was a Disney reference because why would an _Addams_ reference _Disney_? 

The answer to that question was Darcy. In fact, the answer to a _lot_ of questions pertaining to the Behaviors and Decisions of One Wednesday Addams* was Darcy.

Darcy had waved off her gratitude with a pained grimace, muttered something about having nothing to do with it cause she was too busy being tolkiened by a spandexed weirdo to whom Darcy owed churrochangas (and really Marzeah was more than a bit concerned about the possible head trauma Darcy had likely suffered). Marzeah had let her wave it off, because looking at Darcy _hurt_. What skin was visible between the multiple bandages on her was bruised very badly and one of her legs was in a StarkTech heavy duty cast that Marzeah was itching to get her hands on.

But definitely _after_ it was off of Darcy because again, ow.

Anyways, after Marzeah stopped babbling and Darcy stopped grimacing and started grinning kinda dopily when her pain meds kicked in, the two of them sat in the Addams' arboretum that was oddly flower-less (though there were flower _stems_ and flower _heads_ but they...weren't...attached...) in awkward silence until Wednesday joined them.

Then it was a little less awkward. Kind of. Conversation between Darcy and Marzeah was going well, and Wednesday would chat with her but conversation between Darcy and Wednesday was non existant.

Interesting.

This new awkwardness lasted through Marzeah helping Darcy figure out some of her chemistry homework (and seriously, she'd had part of a building fall on her, you'd think she'd be excused), and Wednesday explaining to her in great detail the many ways one could kill a man with plants when she'd commented on the beauty of foxglove. But it broke when Wednesday mentioned that poison hemlock was related to carrots and Darcy had somewhat slurred "Inconceivable". Given an opening like that, Marzeah had to take it.

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." 

Darcy's eyes lit up. "I'm not a witch," she enunciated slowly.

"I'm your wife!" they said simultaneously. 

Wednesday arched one eyebrow. "But you are a witch." she said to Darcy (directly OMG) and really, Marzeah needed her to teach her that deadpan because if she didn't know better, she'd say Wednesday was serious. 

"No hun," said Darcy. "It's from a movie called the _Princess Bride_."

"She's never seen it?" asked Marzeah, a little upset because if Wednesday _had_ seen it, they could've just quoted the movie until her mom showed up. 

"Yeah, she hasn't seen a _lot_ of movies." Darcy confirmed somewhat fondly.

"Sooooo...she doesn't know about the Rodents of Unusual Size?"

Darcy's eyes widened as Wednesday shot up from her relaxed position on the floor and headed towards the door. "Gotta make a phone call" Marzeah heard her cry as she sort of sprinted down the hall. 

"But we're already _in_ the _house_." Darcy yelled and then groaned, one hand going to her ribs. 

"I'm _so_ sorry," she sighed. "What are your thoughts on spiders?"

"Spiders?" Marzeah asked.

The answer: Not. Favorable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Marzeah you sweet summer child, you know nothing, like Jon Snow.
> 
> I am quite sorry for the wait. My life went to shit and I've only just now felt like the pieces are holding together. Anyhow, this chapter took a while and I hope you liked it. Please let me know what you thought
> 
> *a very serious folder Marzeah kept on her mom's computer because understanding Wednesday was a _science_


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a cute study session between the pals

A couple of days later found Darcy, Marzeah, Wednesday and Freddy sitting in the kitchen working on homework.

" _He's_ Wednesday's boyfriend?" Marzeah asked Darcy incredulously.

"I know, right? That's basically what I said when I first saw him."

" _Hey_ ," Freddy objected, "I'm right here!"

"Dude," said Marzeah somewhat sympathetically, "you have _daisies_ in a loop around your horns. No wonder you needed lessons in evil."

"You're taking this very well." stated Wednesday in her typical monotone, but the twitch of her eyebrow (Marzeah was getting better at dicephering Addams' eyebrow speech) was skeptical.

"Yeah, Darcy explained it pretty well. Basically the after life is what you make it to be- you guys managed to summon a demon because you believed a demon would show up. I do _not_ believe a demon would show up, so it would not have worked if I'd been there."

"Well it might've," said Freddy thoughtfully. "Never underestimate an Addams."

Darcy and Marzeah mm'ed in agreement, and then Marzeah had a thought.

"So wait- he's a demon, but we still have to do homework? How is that fair?"

"His bosses like it when we suffer. Though I'd give almost _anything_ to never have to read _Romeo and Juliet_ ever again." Darcy muttered darkly.

" _Anything?_ " said Freddy deviously.

" _Not_ my soul Fred. **Never** my soul. Though I _could_ add you in to the churrochanga deal if you'd like."

Freddy's face curled up in disgust. "No thanks"

"Hey I have a thought." said Marzeah. "We should sign Freddy up for AP Calc next year- that way, he can suffer with us."

"Why?" Freddy moaned. "Why would you _say_ that? I thought we were _friends._ "

"Dude, I barely know you. Deal with it." She turned towards the Addams' cousins, both of which were grinning in their own ways. "So?"

"Brilliant. I'll hack- er, I'll bring it up at the registration office when I go in to figure out how exactly I'm gonna finish up the semester." said Darcy. Wednesday nodded her approval, ignoring the protests from her boyfriend. 

"By the way, when do I get to meet Beth?" asked Marzeah, genuinely eager to meet someone who was actually related to Darcy and who Wednesday described as a "tolerable atrocity".

"Well, apparently Stark Industry's is gonna make her a new eye, so probably sometime after that. I think for now she's just milking her status as an American Tragic Heroine while also skillfully cutting the polititians down to size. It's a delicate balance, but I'm sure Beth can handle it." Darcy sounded very sure, which made Marzeah want to meet Beth all the more.

But first, to finish her Geometry homework.


	16. A/N

Hello everyone,  
As you probably know my health has not been great this year. On top of that, I'm a bit burned out creatively. I really appreciate your ongoing patience. I have half written the sequel to this so the question I ask of you is this- would you like me to post what I have of that? Or would you rather I wait until this story has finished?  
Holly

Edit: Wow that was a LOT more comments than I expected. Thanks to everyone who has expressed well wished and who has voted. I feel like I know which path to take now. See you at the next update.   
Holly


	17. Chapter 17

Bethany Marie Barnes-Lewis was a woman of few goals. She wanted to leave her small, insular town, where everyone knew everyone else and all it took to be underestimated was keeping ahead of the trends and a flawless manicure. Her plan, as of August 2001 was to ruthlessly slash everyone's expectations to the quick- she may look like the blond,vapid, head cheerleader and prom queen that her parents wanted her to be, and for most of her life it had suited her purposes to let them believe she was everything they'd ever hoped for in a child. So what if she knew how to calculate the vibrations of a violin string, which could then be used to determine what tune would be most pleasant to an individuals ear? Math wasn't really her thing- she cared more for quantum mechanics.

A harmless trip to New York with her younger cousin had changed that. She didn't know about the promises Darcy had made to make sure she got out of that particular mess alive, and to be honest, though the titanium steel alloy that Tony Stark had _personally_ implanted in her skull was as cold and ruthless as her plans for getting into Stanford were, she would not have been grateful for the save.

Everything was in shambles.

Her parents could barely stomach talking to her, her younger sister had screamed the first time she'd seen her face and her cousin...

Actually, she hadn't seen Darcy yet. The weird gremlin who'd adopted her had squireled her away while Beth had been pouting prettily for the press. And if there was anyone who'd be OK with the new her, it'd be Darcy and her odd goth family.

Mind made up, Beth grabbed her purse and her keys. 

Time for some bonding.

*

Never let it be said that Beth couldn't embrace the families flair for the dramatic. Nana's stint as a USO chorus girl under a different last name was a well kept secret- it wouldn't do for the granddaughter of Rebecca Barnes to be associated with a "loose woman" like Nana had been, or at least that's what her mom thought. Darcy, whose parents had had a portrait of Nana in her stars and stripes uniform proudly displayed on their mantle had always encouraged Darcy, Beth and Mara to embrace their artistic roots. 

If asked, this was totally why Beth stood outside of Fence for a good ten minutes more than necessary letting the rain ruin her perfectly applied makeup. Not because she was giving herself a pep talk or something, nope. Totally did it for the drama.

She finally took a deep breath and walked forth. Despite the lack of bribe, Fence behaved for her, and she made it to the door without incident. She was expecting the door to be opened by the Addams' butler, but instead a short girl with a round face and a teal hijab answered the door, going bug eyed at the site of Beth's new eye.

Beth waited, expecting a scream, or worse, pity. Instead, the girl pulled a disgusted face and said "Good Lord, that is **ugly**. Doesn't Tony Stark know _anything_ about aesthetic design?"

For the first time since the injury, Bethany Marie Barnes-Lewis threw back her head and laughed. It wasn't the usual dainty titter she let out when amused, it was deep, ugly, and more than a little broken. _Just like me_ she thought as she smiled at the girl, who was now a bright red. 

"No, he doesn't," she said honestly. "Why don't you let me in, and I'll let you know some of his more outlandish prototypes."

The two girls entered the house and somewhere out there, the universe smoothed over just a little more hurt. Good things were coming, it determined. Very good things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BUH
> 
> My apologies for the long wait. I will do my best to keep this going


End file.
